Can You Trust Your Insurance Professional to be Your Financial Advisor?

Insurance people hold themselves out to be financial advisors all of the time. In fact, in the financial services industry, there are over 300,000 people who call themselves financial advisors, but only 85,000 certified financial planners. That means that fewer than one in four of the financial professionals you are talking to might actually be qualified and certified to give you financial advice.

Asking this question also goes to the question of licensing, and you should always ask your financial advisor what licenses they have. If the financial advisor you’re sitting in front of is only licensed to sell insurance, and not licensed to give you investment advice or invest money for you in a traditional sense, you’re going to get sold product. And the product you’re going to get sold is insurance.

So should you trust your insurance professional to give you financial and investment advice? Maybe. But you should tread lightly, ask the right questions, and make sure you understand what they are selling you and why.